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Five-Oh-Sink
Five-Oh-Sink is the 5th chapter of Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. It shows the 101st attempt at capture the bridge at Son. Summary When the stakes are high, every mistake is a costly one. Plot The Recon Platoon and the 506th arrived at the outskirts of Son but was greeted by artillery and mortar fire by the Germans commanded by Hauptmann Auckland, garrisoned in Son. The platoon split into two groups with Baker's team heading the town forward and Red's team head the town's flank. The ultimate objective is not only to capture Son but the bridge as key to Operation Market Garden. Baker and his team engaged Germans along the way and meet citizens of Son near the town. While greeted by the Dutch civilians, the Americans were ambushed by the 88 with Auckland oversaw the bombardment. The Americans were suppressed by German MG 42 and 88, forcing them to take an alternate route to navigate the town. During the fighting, Franky and Corrion had a small heated argument over the dying priest who was killed during the crossfire. Baker's team going through the alternate route, faced German resistance stationed in a large manor. After clearing the Germans outside the manor, Baker found out that the main courtyard is cover by MG 42 fire which force Baker to enter the manor to eliminate the MG 42 alone while his team tries to suppress the machine guns. While Baker is inside, he saw glasses that resembles Leggett's one which force Baker to recall bad memories of Leggett's death in Hill 30. Baker soon snapped out of it and proceed to the manor inside. Baker single handily killed all the Germans inside the manor which clear the way for his team. Baker regroup with his team and headed to a sanitarum nearby. As they cross the river, they saw the 88, carried by a SdfKfz 251 heading down the road. The paratroopers managed to surprised the Germans in the area and eliminate with ease. Baker's team exited the sanitarum and entered the Son's street. Heavy fighting proceed and they are closer to their objectives with the 88 and the bridge. However, the halftrack moved the 88 across the river which strengthen German defense on the other side of the river. After pushing forward with his team, he meet up with Red and decide to attack across the bridge. However, as they charge, the Germans detonate the bridge which made a setback for the operation. Sink orders the men to cross the river and secure the other side of Son. The 506th with Baker and Red team cross the river in face of German fire from the river and sea mine in the area. The 101st men managed to cross the river and fight the Germans defending their positions. Baker and Red's team killed Auckland, destroy the 88 and its crew and rout the Son's defenders. Leading to an American tactical victory but strategic defeat. It ends with Baker and Red have a comedic talk with Sink on the other side of the river. Objectives Capture the Bridge * Recon the Town * Follow Alternate Route * Clear MG Nests * Secure the Sanitarium * Rendezvous with Hartsock Secure Southern Son * Destroy the 88 Checkpoints * Orders from Sink * The Bell Tower * In the Manor * The Sanitarum * Push up the Road * South of the Canal Transcript It opens with the jeeps driving dangerously fast with mortars exploding all around the sides of the roads. Sink: That bastard's been hitting us with 88 fire for a few minutes now. Hartsock: Who, sir? Sink: German commander named Auckland. They've been firing at the woods to get us out in the open. He doesn't give a damn about the civilians, so you boys are gonna find the 88 and destroy it! We rally at the Son Bridge. Baker: All right squad! Get over here! Wilco, sir! Jasper! Bring up that Bazooka! Hartsock (pats Doyle's badge): What? It's for good luck! Belonged to a friend of mine, saved my ass! Baker: I'll take Jasper and the Bazooka with the Fire Team towards the outskirts of town. Hartsock: I'll take 2nd Squad and Zanovich to the streets. We'll give you cover when we can. Baker: Zanovich! You're going with Red! Zanovich: Roger! Baker: Once we make it to the bridge, Sink shouldn't be too far behind. Hartsock: Let's move! Baker and his team decide to enter Son at the front while Red's team approach at the sides, while Sink stays with the jeeps to coordinate their attacks on Son. Baker moves forward with his team taking cover at a nearby wall while Baker goes up the windmill to scout the area. Upon scouting he saw Germans patrolling a nearby farm, he also saw a German dragging a Dutch woman into the farm. All Baker knew it was not good, he put one team in the fence and another one in the flank before the Germans spot them. Soon, both team surprised the Germans and shoot them down with the bazooka team blew up two Germans, later the assault team lead by Corrion finish the remaining. Baker goes down the windmill and join the rest of the squad. As the squad enter the barn, they saw the hanged woman by the Germans, it shows the brutality of the German troops towards civilians. As the exit the barn, they saw Germans from the opposite buildings and near a small patch farm. The team managed to kill the Germans near the fence as the cover weak and penetrable by bullets. The bazooka team were suppressing the Germans in the building and Baker with the assault team flanking them. Extra Germans enter the building and Baker squad use the 4 Fs to eliminate the rest. They sneak around the corner and Baker saw Dutch civilians chatting peaceful as if the war didn't touch the town. The priest noticed Baker and welcomed the Americans to their town, Son. Priest: My English is not good. Thank you! I give you these. Take! Take! Courtland: Hot damn! Check it out Corrion, free cigars! Franky: I'll take a couple. Dawson: And not even old enough to smoke 'em. In the background, it shows an empty part of the highway where the 88 is ready to fire at the oblivious Americans. Franky: I don't even think they realize this battle ain't over yet. Dawson: Oh, they realized. That's why there thanking us, Franky. Corrion: This isn't safe Franky. Franky: Oh lighten up corrion, it's just a- Suddenly an explosion hit near their positions and damage the surroundings. An empty shell was exit the 88 with the crew ready to fire another round. Auckland looking through his binoculars smile with a grin as he caught the Americans. Franky: You're going to be fine! Look at me! You're going to be fine! Franky is tending to the church priest who's bottom half of his body is blown off. The Germans also man a MG42. Corrion: Franky, we gotta go now! Franky: Hang on! There's intense gunfire everywhere with many soldiers pinned down. Corrion: Now Franky! Franky: We can help him! Corrion grabs Franky and shoves him straight into the wall. Corrion: When I give you an order, you follow it! Franky: Yeah I'm sure the 9 seconds I was spending to make him comfortable before he died was a huge loss! Corrion: We don't have time for your shit! Franky shove Corrion aside in anger while rest of Baker's men retreat out of the highway as the 88 and machine gun fire is too much to approach. They decide to use a different route to get to the bridge while avoiding the Germans, the team take cover behind the wall and found there are Germans in the area as well. Jasper fires the bazooka exploding all of the Germans down the road. They all open fire on the enemies to their left trying to pin and snipe them. Finally they kill them all and move on to the next group. Baker and his squad relies more on sniping them pinning and flanking in this part. Later Baker goes through a huge group of German bodies when their finished. A cut scene comes on when you go up the stairs. Baker sees firing coming from a nearby house. Baker: I need suppressing fire on that MG! Baker needs to take out the MGs stationed in the mansion, he decide to enter the entrance into the mansion but the door seems locked. Baker ram the door and entered the mansion but the door he entered through is blocked which meant he destroy the MG nest by himself. As he traverse the mansion, he saw a glasses similar as Leggett, as he approaches to pick up the glasses, he had nightmares over Leggett's death with his screams on the radio, Leggett shooting at the Panzer IV and his corpse. Few seconds later, some shots hit the windows which bring back Baker to reality. Baker goes upstairs and takes out the few Germans up there. There are many more as he goes on. He goes through many rooms clearing at least one German in each room. He encounters several MG's along the way to. He finally meets his men outside and they set off to go clear and secure the sanitarium. There is a huge shootout with Germans on some balconies. It is impossible to flank most of the Germans on this level. After a really long battle they take out all the Germans around there. He runs through the field seeing everyone scrambling and some soldiers injured. Hartsock: I count fifteen...maybe sixteen...to the bridge! Not to mention that 88 on wheels! Sink didn't said it could move! There's no telling when the Colonel will show up with the 506! Baker: I think...with both our squads, we can put enough fire on them to push them back until he does. On Three! ... Hartsock and Baker: Three! Hartsock: MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! They all charge until a huge blast knocks Baker off his feet. He looks up to see the bridge destroyed, and then notices something tumbling through the air above him. After a second, the object buries itself in the ground in front of him, revealing it to be a massive section of the bridge hurled into the air by the blast. Hartsock: You spend more time on your back then Paddock's sister! Paddock: Fuck you, Red! Sink: Son of a bitch! Get across that river and take that 88 and secure that goddamn area! Parker, get Captain Wilder on the line and tell him 30 corps ain't getting across shit without a bailey bridge up here pronto! The krauts just blew this one to hell! Hartsock: Get across that river! Use the debris as cover! All the soldiers start jumping into the river and trying to make there way up when someone explodes. Many soldiers are blown by mines, a lot of them shot and tons went underwater. Baker and Red's squad is the only one that cross the river. The fighting is not over until the 88 Gun is destroyed. The squads take cover on more durable cover as they take shelling from the 88. Jasper is ordered to destroy the sandbags covers with the German hiding behind while the rest of the squad move the right flank killing the Germans while avoiding the 88. Soon, they are all out of sight of the 88 crew and proceed to flank. However, Auckland and his men were in the way and fire on the squad. Soon, Baker managed to gun down Auckland, killing the German commander in Son while the team kill the others. Once the bazooka team is on sight on the sides of the 88, Jasper with no hesitation firing at the 88, destroying and killing the crew. With the 88 destroyed, the rest of the Germans either retreat to Eindhoven or surrender to the paratroopers. After the battle, Baker and Red approach the destroyed bridge with Sink on the other side screaming at them. Sink: How you getting back across the river? Baker: What'd he say? Hartsock: I don't know...my ears are still ringing. Sink: How the Sam hell you getting back across the river?! Hartsock: Okay, that time I definitely heard liver. Maybe he's drunk. We'll just swim back across the liver sir! Sink: Okay! Chapter Ends Characters * Colonel Robert F. Sink * Captain Wilder * Staff Sergeant Matthew Baker * Staff Sergeant Joseph Hartsock * Staff Sergeant Parker * Sergeant Seamus Doyle (Mentioned) * Corporal Jacob Campbell (does not speak) * Corporal Samuel Corrion * Corporal Franklin Paddock * Corporal Thomas Zanovich * Technician 5th Grade Nathan Holden (does not speak) * Private First Class Timothy Connor (does not speak) * Private First Class Jack Courtland (does not have scripted dialogue) * Private First Class Mike Dawson * Private First Class Gary Jasper * Private First Class Kevin Leggett (Flashback) * Private First Class James Marsh (does not speak) * Private First Class Dale McCreary (does not speak) * Private First Class James Roselli (does not speak) * Private First Class Dean "Friar" Winchell (does not speak) * Private Franky LaRoche * Dutch Priest * Hauptmann'' ''Auckland Weapons American Weapons * Colt M1911 "Death Pistol" * M1A1 Carbine * B.A.R. M1918 German Weapons * Kar 98k * MP 40 * MG 42 Teams Assault Team: * Cpl. Corrion - M1 Thompson * Pfc. Dawson - M1 Carbine * Pvt. LaRoche - M3 Grease Gun Bazooka Team: * Pfc. Jasper - M9 Bazooka * Pfc. Connor - M1 Carbine * Pfc. Courtland - M1 Thompson Recon Report September 17th, 1944 For the 101st Airborne, the first day of the invasion brought almost equal parts of success and failure. The air drops were largely successful, landing the majority of the divisions's manpower and material on-target. The 501st, successfully dropping at DZ 'A', managed to quickly defeat the light resistance in the town of Veghel, secure both of the bridges, and set up a strong roadblock near the town of Eerde. The 502nd, dropping in DZ 'B' right outside of St. Odenrode, had equal success in capturing the town and its bridge over the Dommel river. After the initial successes, things started to go downhill. The 502d's 'H' Company met unexpectedly heavy resistance on their way to their secondary target, the Wilhelmina Canal Bridge south of Best. The 502d quickly sent out reinforcement to assist in the attack, but the German forces still proved too strong. Forced to take defensive positions in the Zonche Forest, the men were not able to make any progress for the rest of the day. The 506th, however, met with the most unfortunate failures of the day. Though their assault on Son was highly successful, they were unable to keep the Germans from blowing up the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal. They also found that both of their secondary target bridges had been blown by the Germans several days before the invasion even started. Even though the 506th fought well, they ultimately failed in achieving any of the day's objectives. Liberating Forces The country of Holland is crossed by hundreds of rivers, fjords, and man-made canals, and the road to Arnhem crosses over many of them. In order for the armored units of the 2nd Army in Belgium to move quickly move Northward, the 101st and 82nd would have to capture as many of the bridges over these waterways intact as they could. Time was of the essence in these operations, for if the Germans holding the bridges found out what the Airborne were planning or received the news of the encroaching armor from the south, they could quickly demolish the bridges, essentially stopping the whole operation dead in its tracks. The nature of urban development placed the mission-critical bridges in the towns and cities along the causeway, which would undeniably hold the highest concentrations of German occupying forces in the area. This meant that to complete their mission-critical objectives, the men of the 101st would have to head straight into the strong points of the German defense, and rout them out of the cities in record time. The fighting would be difficult to be sure, but the Airborne had the element of surprise on their side, and it was unlikely that the Germans would have enough time to prepare a proper defense. The Wilhelmina Canal Capturing the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal in the town of Son was the first objective of the 101st's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, led by Col. Robert F. Sink. Capturing this bridge intact was exceptionally critical since it lied right along the road linking Eindhoven to Veghel, and was the only serviceable bridge over the Wilhelmina in the area. Although the regiment had organized and moved through the town of Son at a break-neck pace, they were held up at the last moment by the Germans' battery of Flak 36/37 88mm Guns lined along the North bank. The fight to destroy or disable the guns stalled the 506th's advance for just around one hour, but it was an hour too long. The stall allowed the retreating German forces to finish wiring the explosives on the bridge, and it was detonated right as the first elements of the 506th approached. The destruction of the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal by the retreating German forces signified the first major setback to the operation. The men of the 501st quickly constructed a footbridge over the canal, but it still held them up for most of the day. Taking Eindhoven, the regiment's main objective for the day, would no longer be possible. To make matters worse, the Germans still held the only alternative option for crossing the canal, and upon their arrival to Son, the Northbound XXX Corps would have to construct a Bailey Bridge in order to keep moving. The process of building the bridge would prove a logistical nightmare for the single-column formation and would take a considerable amount of time that the 2nd Armored Army just didn't have. Gallery Trivia * ru:Пять-Ноль-Синк Category:Chapters Category:Hell's Highway Chapters